Water damage due to heating. Warranty according to VOB

Water damage from drinking water is "always" included in building insurance, right? It's not like storm or flood damage. Or do you not have building insurance? The costs for it during new construction are really nothing and it saves you from huge expenses. Besides, it’s mandatory for almost every loan anyway.

Otherwise: is the VOB warranty 4 or 5 years? If 5 years, the deadline will expire soon. Of course, they will say no at first because it could be expensive and they obviously know the deadline is running out. With a 5-year warranty, definitely consider whether it might be worth getting a lawyer involved to put some pressure on.

Has the heating system not been maintained for 5 years now? Otherwise, the question is whether maintenance could have prevented this damage. No one can see a rusted-through tank, but wear parts might have been replaced. Without maintenance, it looks bleak, it’s just like with a car: no inspection done and something breaks—no warranty or only through a lawyer and court, etc.

Ultimately, you probably saved money in the wrong place. Now you can use the money saved on insurance and maintenance to repair the damage yourself. The dryers aren’t that expensive.

PS: The household contents insurance is responsible for the damaged contents of the house. If there was a cabinet in front of the heating system that got wet, it will be replaced through household contents insurance. Or anything else that was loose in the basement and got damaged by the water.

ok thanks for the answers. the question that interests me the most. VOB is 4 years warranty. But if a defect is repaired by the heating in the 4th year, does the period extend by another year?

For the affected components yes but not for the entire heating system, to my knowledge.

Unfortunately, I was wrong there, the last defect in the heating system was removed in 2015. The manufacturer of the fresh water module told me on the phone that the corrosion visible in my photos from the heat exchanger had nothing to do with the maintenance. Based on an excerpt from 2018 of my drinking water, two values are close to the limit for the "standard" heat exchanger. With these values, he would recommend the more expensive nickel-brazed one to avoid such corrosion. Did the developer then use the wrong one for my groundwater? Could I do something about it?

No. "Close to the limit" means it is within specification. Warranty expired, no extended guarantee, then you will probably have to replace it yourself. That's just how it is when you own a house. Or generally, when you own things.

Water damage is covered by the contents insurance, not the building insurance.

No contents are damaged at all, so how do you come to that conclusion?

Tap water including heating is building insurance, just like storm and fire.

Correct. However, I agree with the previous speakers. The wrong place was saved on.

In my opinion, a lawyer is not worth it here. You are really navigating the sea of justice here.